Farm-gate hinge



j R McLAUGHLIN. FARM GATE HINGE. I APPLICATION FIL'ED NOV. 15, I920- Patented July 4, 1922.

ROBERT MOLAUGHLIN, 0F MONMOUTH, ILLINOIS,

ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO A. G.

PATTON, OF MONIY'IOUTH, ILLINOIS.

FARM-GATE HINGE.

trainee.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 4:, 1922.,

Application filed November 15, 1920. Serial No. 424,151.

To all 10/10722- it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT MCLAUGHLIN,

a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of Monmouth, in the county of l/Varren and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a F arm-Gate Hinge; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and eXact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the numerals of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates more particularly to a hinge construction for a farm gate and comprises means for properlybracing the members that comprise the hinge.

It is an object of this invention to provide a hinge construction that is strong, durable and braced against shearing stresses so as to eliminate sagging of the gate.

Other and further important objects of this invention will be apparent from the disclosures in the specification and drawings.

My invention (in a preferred form) is illustrated in the drawings and hereinafter more fully described.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a gate suspended by a hinge construction involving my invention.

Figure 2 is a top plan View of a section of the gate upon an enlarged scale.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary top plan view of the hinge connection upon an enlarged scale.

Figure 4: is a fragmentary top plan view of a modified form of hinge construction.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary top plan view of a modified form of hinge construction.

Figure 6 is a section on the line 66 of Figure 5.

As shown on the drawings:

In the different figures of the drawings, similar features are denoted by similar reference characters.

In Figure 1, I have illustrated the application of my invention to a farm gate which is usually constructed of a number of spaced boards and transverse struts secured to the boards, and as these gates are generally long and heavy, it has always been a difiicult problem to secure a simple gate hinge properly braced against sagging of the gate and shearing of the bolts that secure the hinges to the gate. I have discovered that by extending the hinge members and bracing them against an angled strut, the tendency of the gate to sag will be practically eliminated and the stresses will be so distributed that the usual strain on the gate hinges will be greatly diminished. And to accomplish this purpose, I provide the long metal hinge members or strr ps 1 and 2 substantially equal to the depth of the gate as shown in Fig. 1, which are composed of an integral structure so constructed as to provide a loop 2 designed to fit over a hinge anchor 8 and bent to provide abutments 1 contacting with the rear end of a board. Adjacent the rear ends of the boards that comprise the gate are a pair of plain struts 5 and spaced forwardly from these are a second pair of struts 6 which may consist of angle irons. The hinge members 1 and 2 extend forwardly one on each side of the gate and over the first pair of struts to which they are secured and under the second pair of struts 6 to which they are likewise secured. At intermediate points between these struts, the hinge members 1 and 2 are also secured to the upper board of the gate by means of bolts or the like. Diagonal brace members 7 extend from these hinge members 1 and 2 to the struts 6, being firmly secured to each and to the boards of the gate. The upper and lower hinges are identical in structure, and together with the struts 5 and 6 form a square or rectangular trussed frame that supports the wooden gate which abuts against the abutments 4:, thus reducing the shear on the bolts that secure the hinge members, especially the lower members, to the gate.

In Figure 4, I have illustrated a modified form of hinge which may be used in certain instances. The construction differs from the one above in that the hinge members or straps 8 and 9 are bolted or secured in overlapping relation to the same side of the gate to define a loop 10 at the rear of the gate adapted to receive the gate anchoring bolt 3.

Figures 5 and 6 illustrate a further modification of my invention in which the hinge members 11 and 12 comprise an integral structure formed and attached as the hinge illustrated in Figures 1, 2 and 3, the only difference residing in the form or shape of the hinge which consists of an angle member having the flanges 13 and 14 which produce a very rigid construction and prevent o distortion or bending of the hinge when in use.

' It will accordingly be observed that'I have invented a novel hinge construction that is cheap, economical and durable, that is strongly braced against shearing stresses and strains {and that forms with the struts a metal frame that supports the gate, in connection with which, it should be particularly noted that the strain produced by the gate is well distributed over this metal frame structure and there is'not the liability for the hinges to become loose or the bolt holes in'the wooden gate to become enlarged so that the gate can sagyas would be the case if the hinge members were only secured to the wooden gate.

I am aware that numerous details of construction may be-varied through a wide range without departing from the principles of this invention and I therefore do not purpose limiting the patent granted otherwise than necessitated by the prior art.

I claim as my invention: 1. The combination with a gate, upper and lower hinges connected thereto and extending forward a distance. equal to approximately the depth of said gate, a pair of vertical struts secured to the gate near the rear-end thereof,a second pair of struts secured to said gate at the forward end of said hinges, said hinges being connected to said struts, and members bracing said hinges wlth onepair of struts whereby a rectangular necting said hinge members to one pair of struts.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

, ROBERT MOLAUGHLIN.

Witnesses BELLE CABLE, MARY A. -YOUNG. 

